Writer & Unabashed Dog Lover

November 2016 Edition

It’s November folks, and I am so relieved. After this week, the election will be over which means that family time will no longer be interrupted by pollsters and campaigners and commercials galore. I’ve rediscovered a love for pumpkin spice steamers and candles that smell like fallen leaves. My desk at work has become a miniature naturalist’s collection of rocks I have found and pinecones that make me smile. I like to save clippings from magazines that inspire me too — they make the day more bearable.

Last week I took a vacation out to the country where my husband and I spent time with family. Our trips to the country are always rejuvenating. I love listening to the birdsong, the bleats of deer in the woods, spotting an armadillo or a turtle crossing the road, leaping over creek beds and tromping around with my parents’ pups.

This visit marked our first homegrown harvest — potatoes! — and a hayride pulled by my father’s tractor. One evening was blissfully spent on a porch swing watching as a thunderstorm rolled in across the pasture and eventually, ambled off to another field. I could ramble on about sunrises and sunsets and clear skies with glittering starlight and shooting stars, but, you’d have to be there.

Morning Tendrils 1

Morning Tendrils 2

Night Storm

Now firmly grounded, I am back to work, looking for new content for the November and December issues of our guild’s magazine, The Scribe, and contacting writers. After a discussion with author Randy Ingermanson, I’ve tweaked Scrivener to create some templates of my own, to create form letters for common email queries, for production goals (still being developed!) and for tracking my writing productivity.

I’ve also embarked upon a project where I’m re-reading Aurorae Rising for plot holes and story threads. I really want to understand where I “lost the plot” so to speak during my 2012 NaNoWriMo venture and see what if anything can be salvaged. This is my side project as I’m also actively reading/reviewing books for the Historical Novel Society.

I expect the month will continue as it has been, working on reviews, guild business, and occasionally, puttering around with my own writing here and there. I’m grateful for the time that God has given me. Peace.

Share this:

Like this:

Related

Lauren Miller is a Midwestern born writer with a passion for Jesus, the written word, and dogs. She has seventeen years of experience in the library field and reviews books for the Historical Novels Review (UK). Lauren is the Managing Web Editor and writer for The Scribe, a web publication of the St. Louis Writers Guild, where she also serves as their Director of Communications. She likes to spend her free time enjoying period films, discovering new reads, and being surrounded by other people’s pets. Lauren, her husband, and their wily Maine Coon (who isn’t quite a dog) live in Missouri. You can learn more about Lauren’s writing at LaurenJoanMiller.com.